Rousey said, “This is not just the biggest women’s fight of all time—it’s something that will happen only once in a lifetime.”
Ronda Rousey has described her upcoming comeback fight against Gina Carano as the greatest mixed martial arts bout of all time, saying it will mark a defining moment for the sport.
Rousey, the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo with a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games, also became the first female fighter inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. She successfully defended her bantamweight title six times before suffering a shocking defeat to Holly Holm in 2015.
“This is not just the biggest women’s fight of all time… this is something that will happen once in a lifetime in MMA, the beginning of something huge,” Rousey said during a press conference on Wednesday.
The 39-year-old added that the bout is not “nostalgia bait or a cash grab,” pointing instead to the commercial success of Mike Tyson’s fight against Jake Paul as proof that audiences remain eager to see major names return to combat sports.
The Tyson vs. former YouTuber Paul bout in November 2024 reportedly attracted a global audience of 108 million viewers, making it the most-watched sporting event ever on a streaming platform.
Rousey’s clash with Carano marks MVP’s debut in MMA promotion and will stream live on Netflix on May 16.
She also responded strongly to current UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison, who had called her irrelevant on a podcast.
“Gina is so relevant that she’s the whole reason the 145lb division even exists. I am so relevant that the only reason Kayla has a job at the UFC is because of me,” Rousey said.
“She has the charisma of a wet towel and will always be in someone else’s shadow. The next time she wants to talk, she should look down at her feet and consider who paved the road she’s walking on.”
On fighter pay, Rousey stated that the minimum purse for athletes on the MVP card is $40,000, adding that it is “something the UFC cannot say.”
For 43-year-old Carano, who last fought in 2009 against Cris Cyborg, the experience has brought a different mindset this time.
“I feel real peace and excitement about it. It’s not anxiety, it’s excitement — and that’s new for me.”
The co-main event features former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou against Philipe Lins, while Nate Diaz will face BKFC star Mike Perry in a welterweight bout.
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